


Broken Arrow

by Shattered_Heartless



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, Badass Nathalie, Cliffhangers, Cupid Adrien, F/M, Flashbacks, Gabe needs a hug, GabeNath Reverse Bang, GabeNath Reverse Bang 2020, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, evil Emilie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27946292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shattered_Heartless/pseuds/Shattered_Heartless
Summary: Ordinary innkeeper Nathalie is plague with visons of a captive Gabriel, begging for help. She sets out to recruit his son Adrien, the Demigod of Love, to aid her in freeing Gabriel from Emilie, the goddess of beauty. But Nathalie doesn't know the secret that Adrien keeps from her that may tear them all apart.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Emilie Agreste & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Nathalie Sancoeur, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur
Comments: 25
Kudos: 33
Collections: GabeNath Reverse Bang 2020





	1. A simple woman

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to Granada_Ctonica for beta reading this story!  
> [Click here](https://novatheastropirate.tumblr.com/post/636819037539713024/broken-arrow) to check out the stunning art created by Nova that inspired this story!

Nathalie

It was just another average day for Nathalie. She woke up just before dawn, got dressed and went downstairs to get to work. Her job at the Tibet Inn was to ensure that the lobby was set up neatly for the morning’s customers. Corinth may not be the biggest city on the map, but there were still travellers passing through who would need a good meal and a place to sleep. After get the place set up, she was to take all the blankets from the rooms and clean them for the evening.

It was when she was hanging up the last blanket to dry when it happened. One moment, everything was clear as day, the next, Nathalie was doubling over, gasping as she felt a sharp pain in her knee. 

A vision flashed before her eyes: A tired looking blonde man looking at her. He was bound with chains, his clothes ragged. “Please,” he pleaded. “Help me! Find my son, the Sunrise Warrior.” Then he was gone just as quick as he disappeared. 

Nathalie blinked for a moment, not sure what to make of the experience. She didn’t recognize the man, yet felt a connection to him. Something inside of her was telling her to go to him, to be with him. Images of him looking healthy and well dressed flooded her mind, as if she already knew who he was. Nathalie felt a fondness for him inside of her heart, an attraction she had never felt before. It was unexplainable it seemed.

She forced herself to stand up, shaking her head as if she was trying to get rid of the feeling. But it stayed with her as she went through her day, trying to drive herself into her work, but all throughout the day, bits and pieces of the vision kept floating through her mind. None of it seemed to click together, at least until that evening.

Nathalie was cleaning up tables later that evening when a traveling merchant arrived, weary from traveling a great distance. He walked up to the innkeeper, saying, "I need a room for the night."

The innkeeper looked him over, then said, "A room with meal service will cost you ten gold pieces or thirty silver." The difference wasn't correct, but the innkeeper never cared much for it.

The merchant frowned and dug into his travel bag. "I don't have any pieces, but I can trade you this,” he offered as he pulled out the finest blue dress Nathalie has ever laid her eyes on. “This is a legit Gabriel dress, one of the last pieces made before he was locked up,” the merchant exclaimed proudly. 

The innkeeper gave him a skeptical look, “I have no use for such clothing, even one as rare and fine as this one.”

“Are you sure? I’m sure that pretty maiden you have wandering about this fine establishment may like it,” the merchant said, clearly trying his best to buy his room with the piece of clothing.

The innkeeper sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to get anything else from the merchant and accepted his payment. As the merchant went to settle in, the innkeeper approached her with the Gabriel piece in hand. “Bastard just couldn't fork over money like every other decent person,” he scowled. He held out the clothing to Nathalie as he continued, “You may as well take it, but this will be your wages for the month. It would look better on you than me anyways.” 

Nathalie nodded her head as she accepted the clothing, realizing it was worth more than the wages she was paid besides food and shelter. “Who is this Gabriel?” she asked as she admired the dress.

“This famous clothing maker from the northern cities. Stories say his works are like nothing else anyone else ever created, the most beautiful clothing ever. It even attracted the attention of Emilie, the goddess of love and beauty, who desired his creations for herself so her beauty would be unmatched.” The innkeeper turned around and began to wipe the counter clean as he continued, “They were married and for sometime were the perfect version of a love story, but after a few years, things turned for the worst. Emilie locked Gabriel up so he will never be able to leave her side. Since then, it’s said that he toils away, making new garments only for Emilie and her lovers.”

Nathalie frowned, remembering the man she saw in her vision begging for help. “Why doesn’t anyone help him?” she asked.

“No one can. Emilie has powerful allies who would do anything for her as well as her own personal army,” the innkeeper explained. “Any attempt to even try to free Gabriel would lead to certain death or worse.” He shook his head as he walked away from Nathalie, “That’s enough stories for tonight, we have a busy morning ahead of us tomorrow.” Nathalie sat down at one of the tables, admiring the dress as she wondered if Gabriel was the man in her visions.

Nathalie was clearing off a table again that morning when she heard the traveling merchant telling a story to a few local farmers. “You fellas haven’t seen a warrior like I have! Back in Athens, there was this young buck fighting in the arena. Showed up two years ago in the city, local soldiers decided to throw him in the arena for entertainment. Since then, the kid dropped every man and beast they sent in to take him out.”

“You’re surely lying,” one of the locals insisted.

The merchant shook his head, “May Zeus strike me down if I’m lying. This kid is a fighter! He never told anyone his name though. Everyone calls him the Sunrise Warrior, something to do with the way his hair shines in the sunlight or something.”

Nathalie froze, the merchant’s words stopping her in her tracks. The blonde man had told her to find the Sunrise Warrior in the vision, and now someone was saying that the Sunrise Warrior was real and knew of his whereabouts. Surely meant that she was to go find him and free the blonde man no?

She spent the rest of the day debating on her course of actions, unsure what to do, but when nightfall came, she had already packed up her meager possessions and was ready to go on her journey. The traveling merchant was lounging the eating area again. He was still making arrangements for his next trip from the looks of it.

“Excuse me, sir? Could I have a moment of your time?” she asked politely, waiting for him to look up from his maps. 

He looked up and gave her a kind smile, “How can I help a fine lady like yourself?” 

“I need to get to Athens. I overheard you saying that you were just there recently. Is there any chance that you’ll be headed there soon again?” she asked him. 

The merchant leaned back in his seat, stretching the back of his head as he considered her request. “Unfortunately, I have no more business there anytime soon,” he stated plainly; but then, his expression softened as he added, “There is a small caravan leaving for Athens tomorrow though. I’m sure you can convince them to take you along. Now I need to finish my own preparations. I need to find a ship to take me across the Mediterranean Sea.” Nathalie left the man alone to do his planning, eager to find the caravan before it left.

  
  


Adrien

Spitting blood out of his mouth, Adrien withdrew his blade from his opponent's corpse. The sword was slightly bent, rusty and hadn’t been sharpened in weeks, their condition is a reflection of their owner. Adrien was banished here five years ago, stripped of most of his powers and trapped in the arena. A curse was laid upon him:  _ Unless someone guided him out, he would never be able to leave the Athens Arena.  _ As a result, the general in charge of the city decreed that anyone who attempts to aid Adrien in leaving would be killed.

Everyday, Adrien would be forced to fight multiple opponents, most of whom were criminals sentenced to the death. Sometimes, a warrior would volunteer to fight Adrien to gain riches and fame. None have succeeded.

As time went by, he had been dubbed the Sunrise Warrior due to the way his hair shined in the sun as he rose from every battle. Today was no different. At the crack of dawn, a foot soldier in the local garrison decided that he was more skilled than he really was. That battle had lasted mere moments, Adrien crushing him with ease. 

A horn sounded, interrupting his thoughts. Adrien turned to the general’s personal prohedria, the general himself standing there as he made a hand motion. Across the arena, a gate began to clank open and revealed a wild animal with golden fur and a proud mane around its neck. Adrien had heard stories about lions, but he had never seen one before. It roared as its claws extended from its paws, Adrien noting that it was missing a claw in one of its forepaws. 

Others would have trembled before the sight of the proud and mighty beast, but even without most of his power stripped along with his wings, Adrien was still a demi-god. The creature was fast, but he was faster. In a few mere seconds, the mighty beast was laying on the ground while Adrien was wiping his sword clean again.

As the crowds faded out of the amphitheater, one member of the audience stood out to Adrien. She wasn’t leaving the stands with anyone else, staying in her spot as she gazed down at him. She was wearing a very familiar piece of clothing: a blue dress that was one of his father’s last creations before their escape attempt. If this woman knew the creator of the dress, there was also a chance she may even know of Adrien’s parentage. 

He left the arena for the small living space he was allowed, a glorified cell where people could come to view him like a caged animal. As he cleaned off himself with the wet cloth someone left there for him, the woman from the stands approached him. She seemed frightened and determined at the same time, stepping closer to the bars than most others have dared. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, Adrien purposely ignoring her.

Finally he got sick of the silence and faced her, asking rudely, “What do you want?”

Her mouth opened and closed, appearing flustered, “I need your help freeing your father Gabriel. I saw some sort of vision of him asking me to save him and that I needed to find you.” Adrien looked her up and down, taking another moment to consider what she said.  _ That would mean that she is... _

Adrien took a step closer to the bars of his cell and gripped two of them tightly. Without any sign of physical strain, he bent the metal bars away from each other and stepped out. “Then we better get going. My father has been locked up for five years and I don’t intend on making his stay any longer than it already; is but first, we need to raid the god of war’s fortress. He has something I need back.”

  
  


Nathalie

As Nathalie opened her mouth to ask what he was referring to, a sly voice spoke up from behind them. "If you intend to go there, then you will need a guide.” She turned to see a woman younger than her, an orange and white cloak draped around herself with long brown hair hanging loose. The young woman’s olive green eyes stared them down as she introduced herself, “I’m Lila and I am your only hope of getting there alive.” 


	2. Deceit

Nathalie

Nathalie stood back as Adrien used his sword to clear their path of thorns. The young woman, who called herself Lila, had guided them to this point, constantly consulting the small chart she carried inside her cloak. "Are you sure we can trust her?" Nathalie asked Adrien once they were moving again, Lila taking the lead ahead of them. 

Adrien sheathed his sword as they followed Lila down the path, shaking his head. “No, but we don’t have much of a choice. Neither of us are from this area and know the layout, but she does.”

Nathalie sighed, resigning herself to following the suspicious guide. It still bothered her that Lila just  _ happened  _ to show up at the very moment they would need her help. To her, it felt almost like they were walking into a trap. Lila led them on without stopping once for a break, taking them through a path so windy that Nathalie wasn't even sure what direction they headed in anymore. 

Finally, Lila motioned for them to stop for the night. "It's best if we stop here for the night. I'll go clear the area around us to make sure we are not being followed." Before either Adrien or Nathalie could protest, Lila slipped away into growing darkness. 

Adrien shook his head as he slipped his pack off of his back onto the ground. “That’s it. When she gets back, I’m going to put my foot down. It’s bad enough we let her lead us all of this way.”

Nathalie nodded her head, looking around at the surrounding darkness. “How much farther do you think we have to go yet?”

Adrien shrugged, “I never had the chance to see the world. My parents had me locked up before my father and I attempted to escape. Since then, I had been trapped in the arena,” he added as he started to clear out a spot for a campfire.

“I’m sorry,” Nathalie said as she began to pull out some of their rations. She started feeling guilty that she had a well enough life that she complained about while he had been suffering in captivity. 

Adrien shrugged, “It’s not your fault in any way.” He looked at the blue dress Nathalie was wearing, the same one she had been wearing when they met the day before. “Where did you find that dress?” he asked curiously.

“I got it from a merchant only a few days before I met you. He traded it for food and shelter, claiming it was one of your father’s creations,” Nathalie explained, feeling suddenly self-conscious about her dress.

Adrien nodded, a small smile forming on his face. "I figured. He never managed to convince me to follow his footsteps in fashion, but I learned enough to recognize his work. He said his greatest desire was to make a pattern that would change the colour depending on which way you look at it."

"He never found the way to do it?" Nathalie asked.

Adrien shook his head, beginning to frown as his face darkened. "As the years went by, my father began to lose his passion for the craft. He became more downcast, being forced to make clothes day and night. It was only a chore to him then, rather than a passion."

Nathalie opened her mouth, intending to comfort him, when she heard a twig snap behind them. Both of them turned, Adrien unsheathing his sword. Several fully armoured soldiers armed with heavy spears were emerging from the bush. They moved to surround the pair as two more figures emerged from the bush: Lila and a massive scarred man with a massive buster sword in his right hand. She growled at Lila as Adrien’s eyes widened in shock, staring at the large man.

“Hello again, Adrien,” the large man said with a smirk on his face. "I'm surprised to see you all the way out here. This is a problem we need to correct." He made a hand signal to his men that Nathalie did not understand.

Something hit her in the back of the head, knocking Nathalie to the ground. As darkness consumed her mind, she heard Adrien struggling against the soldiers. Then there was nothing.

  
  


Adrien

Adrien groaned as he sat up, immediately feeling the weight of the shackles on his wrists and ankles. Armand had gotten the better of him, surprise attacking him and Nathalie while they were waiting for Lila. It was his own fault, Adrien realized. He let his guard down while talking about his father and didn’t realize what Lila had been really up to all along. 

Beside him, Nathalie lay unconscious, also chained up by Armand’s guards. Adrien swore under his breath, sitting up to take in their surroundings. They were in a stone dungeon, underground judging by the water seeping through the cracks. The room stank as if no one had cleaned it in a long time. 

Adrien examined the chains keeping him and Nathalie locked up. From what he could tell, the chains were not enchanted. Flexing his arms, Adrien put all of his strength into forcing the chains off of the wall. The links snapped, allowing him to stand up again. He quickly went to work, getting the shackles off of himself and Nathalie. She stirred slightly as he set her up right against the stone walls. “Adrien, what happened?” she asked, still a bit out of it.

“Armand and his men have captured us,” Adrien explained to her. “We were locked up in this dungeon, probably because they didn’t know that I’m still able to break the chains even without my powers.” Nathalie nodded her head, grimacing as she made the motion. She probably had a concussion Adrien realized as he helped her stand up. 

He guided her towards the exit, carefully breaking the door free of its hinges holding it in place and setting it off to the side. Together, they made their way out of the cell and headed up a nearby staircase, meeting no resistance. This worried Adrien, wondering while Armand would not have any guards placed to keep an eye on him. It was almost as if the god of war was hoping for Adrien to break free.

When they exited the staircase into a large chamber, a barred gate slammed down behind them. Looking ahead of them again, Adrien saw Armand step out of the shadows. Armand outstretched his right hand, materializing a broadsword in it using his powers. He suddenly rushed the pair, a smirk on his face as he swung the sword down on them. Adrien pushed Nathalie to the side with more force than he would have prefered, but he didn’t have a moment to waste on checking her.

As the blade arced down towards him, Adrien caught the flat of the blade between his hands and twisted the blade out of Armand’s grasp. He grinned as the god of war backed away from him, the smirk long gone from his scared face. Armand materialized another sword, this time larger than the first one he forged. Adrien quickly found himself in a fight for his life, fending off the rapid blows Armand sent his way.

  
  


Nathalie

She opened her eyes, finding herself in a hallway she had never seen before. Torches held by golden wall mounts lit the way, paintings of a tall blonde woman filling the gaps between them all. At the end of the hallway was a heavy steel door, left slightly opened. Nathalie walked towards the door, unsure how she got there. Cautiously, she peered into the room and gasped. On the far side of the room was the man she saw in her vision, Gabriel. He looked even more tired than when she last saw him, his hair beginning to grey slightly. Gabriel suddenly looked her directly in the eye, his voice trembling as he pleaded, “Please hurry! She doesn’t know that you are coming yet but she soon will again!”

Nathalie suddenly shook awake, feeling like someone had thrown cold water over her. It was another vision, this time with a warning for her. She shuddered as she remembered how Gabriel had looked, the urge to free him growing stronger inside of her. A loud clang across the room from her jerked her attention back to matter at hand.

Nathalie pushed herself up, tasting the blood from her cut lip as she looked up at the fight across the room. Armand was pushing Adrien back, gaining the upper hand. The god of war forged a massive buster sword and slammed the flat of the blade against Adrien. Adrien crashed into the far wall of the keep, laying there unconscious with his sword shattered into pieces next to him.

Nathalie raised her hand towards Adrien, crying out, "No!" Armand simply smirked as he strode over to Adrien, intent on delivering the finishing blow.

Focusing on all her fear for Adrien’s safety, Nathalie began to feel the ground below her hand shifting. It was almost as if it were responding to her thoughts. Her focus switched from Adrien over to Armand, anger over taking the fear inside of her. As Armand swung his blade back for the killing blow, a stone fist emerged from the floor and grabbed the sword. As Armand cried out in confusion, the rest of the rock creature emerged. The rock golem loomed over Armand as it snapped the blade like glass. 

Armand backed away from the golem, clearly shaken by the sight of the mighty monster. “No! Please don’t kill me!” he begged, shielding his face. 

Nathalie mentally commanded the golem to halt as she checked on Adrien, who was beginning to wake up again. “Tell us where Gabriel is being held,” she demanded. 

Armand trembled before them, his words shaken as he struggled to answer coherently. “He is locked up in Emilie’s fortress. It’s just a day’s journey north of here.”

Adrien stood up, rubbing the back of his head as he groaned. His gaze settled on Armand and he asked, “What did you do with my wings?”

“Emilie has them hanging in her trophy room under lock and key,” Armand revealed, still staring at the rock golem. “She wanted to keep them as a reminder of that day.” He turned to Nathalie, “You are the one aren’t you? The one Emilie had been preparing to fight for the last five years, who would come to attempt to free Gabriel.”

Nathalie frowned, “How would she know that I would come to free Gabriel?”

Armand shrugged, “She never told me how she knew, just that it was going to happen. She never knew when exactly, so Adrien was to be used as bait to lure you out so I may take you out.”

Adrien walked over to one of the swords laying on the floor and picked it up, a deadly gleam in his eye. Nathalie realized too late what he was intending to do, but Adrien was already swinging the sword down in a wicked slash. Armand didn’t even have a chance to scream before the blade made contact. Nathalie looked away, shaken by the way Adrien killed Armand in cold blood. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” she murmured, the rock golem collapsing as she stopped focusing on it.

“You don’t know what happened all those years ago,” Adrien said quietly, not meeting her eyes. “What he did to me then.” 

Both of them remained silent for a moment, then Nathalie asked, “How did I do that? With that rock monster. It was as if I could speak to it psychically.”

Adrien gave her a long look, then said, “I think that you are like me, a demigod. What do you know about your parents?”

“Absolutely nothing,” she admitted. “Even the old woman who raised me knew nothing about them.” Nathalie frowned again, thinking about what Armand had said to them. “What did he mean when he said that they were waiting for me to appear?” she asked him, looking him in the eye.

Adrien shrugged, looking away from her as he said, “My mother must have been suspecting for years that someone may try to free my father. She just didn’t know who it was for sure, so she was always looking over her shoulder.”

Nathalie considered this for a moment, then started towards the exit. “Come on,” she urged him. “We still need to save your father. I can’t bear to let him suffer more than he already has.” As she led the way out of the ruined keep, Adrien gazed after her, not able to take his eyes off the energy arrow sticking out of her thigh. Only he could see it, because it was his arrow.


	3. Confrontation

Nathalie

Nathalie eyed the villagers around them carefully, pulling her cloak a little more over her head. Adrien had led her to the village just outside of Emilie’s fortress, where Gabriel had once run his shop before being swept away by Emilie. Adrien tapped her forearm, prompting her to follow him down a side street. He led her to the hidden back door of the shop, carefully opening the door to let them inside.

The interior surprised Nathalie as they walked into a well kept shop, rather than the abandoned wreck she was expecting. It would have made sense, seeing how Gabriel hadn’t been to the shop in over two decades. “I don’t understand,” Nathalie said, darting around for any sign of another person in the room. “I thought this place was abandoned.”

Adrien shook his head as he dropped his pack on the floor, looking at the yarn carefully stacked on the shelves. “Emilie has a twin sister who she cast out some time before I was born, tripping her of any power she had. Mother never liked rivals and my aunt was enemy number one in her eyes. My father took pity on her and offered to let her stay here.”

Nathalie was going to ask him if he was sure they would be safe here, when a young woman entered the room. She was a head shorter than Nathalie, raven hair with blue highlights. The young woman yelped in surprise, dropping the basket she was carrying. As she cowered from the duo against a wall, a tall woman with grey streaks in her hair walked in. “Marinette, what's going on back here?” she asked, not noticing the two intruders.

“Hello Aunt Amelie,” Adrien greeted the tall woman, stepping closer to the pair. "Nice to finally meet you at last.”

Amelie frowned for a moment, as if unsure who was before her. Then her eyes widened with shock as she said quietly, “Adrien?” She rushed forwards and hugged him tightly, “I thought you were killed after Gabriel’s attempt at fleeing.” She let go of him and took a step back to look him over. “My, you have grown so much since I last saw you. What happened to you?”

As Adrien told her the story of their journey, Nathalie settled down on a nearby chair. The girl, Marinette is what Amelie had called her, seemed to have calmness down and was leaving the room to go get something. For a moment, it seemed like they were finally safe.

  
  


Marinette

Marinette brought in some warm food for the two newcomers, listening in on the conversation that was going on. She wasn’t sure what to make of them just yet, but Amelie seemed to trust them and that was enough for her. Amelie had taken her in four years ago, recognizing her talent with clothes. She was no Gabriel, but she was still able to produce clothing that people would want to purchase from them. This led to the shop being reopened, though it never reached its former fame.

From what she could tell, Adrien and his mysterious companion were on a quest to free Gabriel from his prison in Emelie’s fortress, something that seemed impossible to her. But Adrien seemed confident in their chances of achieving this seemingly impossible goal. Though Amelie seemed not as confident as them, she wasn’t stopping them from leaving.

Marinette watched as they left the shop, her eyes lingering on Adrien's disappearing form. “Stay safe, Adrien,” she murmured softly, turning away as she headed back inside of the shop. 

  
  


Adrien

He carefully snuck into the armory, dodging a pair of guards exiting the room. Inside, Adrien found the chest he was looking for. Ripping it open, he pulled out his wings and held them out in front of himself. It had been years since he had last seen them, had felt their grace as he flexed them. The wings were darker than when he had last seen them, possibly due to his connection to them being severed for so long. Or someone had attempted to destroy them along with his old bow and sword. 

Taking off his mail shirt, Adrien removed thoughts of his old possessions from his mind and focused on his wings, carefully setting them on the ground. He laid down between them and closed his eyes. Slowly, he began to feel them move, the old bonds that had been severed healing. He began to feel the nerves in the wings again, his brain getting signals from them once more. Adrien sighed happily as he sat up, flexing his wings outwards. He could feel his power returning to him, his strength growing with each passing moment. It felt good to be whole once again.

As he put his shirt back on, Adrien heard a loud crash from the direction Nathalie had split off from him earlier. Rushing outside, he encountered two guards doing their patrol. Both raised their swords in response, while Adrien grinned eagerly. It felt so good to finally be himself again.

  
  


Nathalie 

Nathalie peered around the corner, checking for any guards. Ahead of her was the metal door she had seen in her vision, the one that Gabriel had been locked behind for so long. No guards were in sight, so Nathalie rushed forwards eagerly. Suddenly, two guards walked around the corner on patrol. “So when do you think we are finally gonna get a vacation?” the younger one was asking the older one. “I’m interested in finally finding someone to settle down with.”

“You’re better off running away with her than bringing her back here,” the other guard commented. “The goddess of love forbids any other woman to step foot in her fortress. The punishment is death.”

The younger guard was about to ask something else when he looked up and spotted Nathalie. “Stop!” he yelled at her, raising up his spear. 

His elder companion shook his head, “What’s the point of even bothering with her. If she’s a woman, the goddess will just kill her anyways. Our work is done here, let’s go.” But the young man didn’t listen and charged towards Nathalie, crying out what sounded like a poor attempt at a warcry. The man didn’t stand a chance as Nathalie formed a stone golem from the walls. The golem’s chest formed around the young man’s spear, immediately halting his progress. 

The guard looked up at the golem towering over him, his eyes widening with realization. But it was too late for him, the golem slapped him away against the wall, knocking him unconscious. Nathalie turned her attention back to the older guard, who was shaking his head. “I don’t get paid enough for this,” he told her, dropping his spear as he started to walk away. “Do as you please.”

Nathalie frowned, not sure what to think of the caliber of soldier Emilie employed, but decided it was in her favour. Mentally commanding the golem to proceed, she continued on to the door. Using the golem to open it up, Nathalie walked inside and gasped in shock. Gabriel was laying against the wall, a long bloody gash in his forehead. Standing above him with a wicked smile on her face was Emelie, a jagged dagger in her hands. “I was wondering when you would finally get here. You’re late, you know?” she said playfully, twirling the blade in her fingers as she approached Nathalie.

Nathalie felt herself tremble as she summoned her golem into the room. “Let Gabriel go or else,” she threatened, her tone quivering. No one ever told her how terrifying Emilie could be in person.

Emilie chuckled softly, “Why rush so much towards destruction? After all, us ladies have so much to talk about. I wouldn’t want to miss the chance to get to know you better, Nathalie of Corinth.”

Nathalie frowned, her concentration on the golem lessening as she asked, “How do you know my name?”

“Why, my dear husband Gabriel told me,” Emelie smirked, indicating the pain induced man lying across the chamber from them. “He really can’t shut up about you. Started a few weeks ago, talk of someone finally coming for him.”

Nathalie lowered her guard, feeling more confused. “What do you mean? He never met me before now.”

“And yet you feel an irresistible urge to come save him? No matter what? No matter the obstacles that were in your path, you came running to Gabriel’s rescue. And it only had just started a few weeks ago. Why do you think that is?” Emelie asked as she closed the distance between them. As Nathalie didn’t answer, Emelie continued on as she stopped right in front of her. “Here, let me show you the true story,” she said, then her hand suddenly lunged towards Nathalie’s side. But she grabbed onto something else, causing Nathalie to look down to see what it was.

In Emilie’s hand was an arrow made of pure energy, sticking out of her side. Then the world shifted, Gabriel’s room being replaced with darkness. Nathalie could hear Emilie’s voice in her head saying, “Let me take you to the beginning.”


	4. Truth

Nathalie

Nathalie found herself standing in the middle of a village, villagers milling about their daily business. Turning around, she spotted him: Gabriel. He looked much younger and healthier than when she had seen him in Emilie’s throne room. The shop he was in was filled with some of the finest clothes Nathalie has ever seen in her life, her blue dress visible among the shelves. 

“This is the day Gabriel and I had first met,” Emilie’s voice came from inside of Nathalie’s head. “The day I found a man who could make me look more beautiful without use of witchcraft and sorcery.”

The scene changed and Natalie found herself inside of the shop, watching Emilie talk to a flustered Gabriel, who appeared to be in awe of the literal goddess in his shop. “Despite his creations being some of the greatest in the land, Gabriel set his prices low enough for even the poor to afford them,” Emilie scoffed as she continued her narration. “I could not allow this so I married him and moved him into my home. He was reluctant at first, but I was able to persuade him with my natural charms.”

Once again, she was transported to another location, this time inside of Emilie’s fortress. “We had a son together, Adrien. As a demigod born of me, he received a variation of my gifts. His greatest ability was to cause two individuals to fall in love together. Remember that bit, it will be important later,” the goddess of love said, giggling slightly. 

As Nathalie opened her mouth to ask what Emilie meant by that, Gabriel entered the room, a young Adrien in tow. She stared in shock as Adrien’s wings became visible, stunned by their purity. Emilie’s voice interrupted her thoughts once more, “But all good things have to come to an end. Gabriel didn’t like that fact that I was sleeping with Armand, so one day he decided to take our son and try to leave.”

Emilie entered the room, followed closely by Armand armed with his buster sword. A fight quickly broke out, Adrien bursting forth to protect his father. “My son is brave and strong, but a fool,” Emilie said, her voice full of bitterness as Armand knocked Adrien to the ground. “Their little rebellion was quickly crushed, but I had a new problem on my hands. Adrien would someday be powerful enough to challenge me. I had to ensure that would never happen, so I ordered Armand to cut off his wings.”

The scene changed back to the throne room, Gabriel in chains as Adrien was shoved down onto his knees. Armand stood behind him, sword raised to strike Adrien as Emilie said, “But before we took his power away, Adrien did the unexpected.” Adrien suddenly lunged forwards, a silver bow materializing in his hands. As he pulled the drawstring back, an arrow of pure white energy formed. Adrien fired the arrow, hitting Gabriel square in the chest. But the arrow didn’t kill him, the energy entering Gabriel’s chest. As Armand came over his shock, Adrien turned to face the large open window and fired off another arrow. 

Nathalie tried to see where it was going, but the arrow was almost immediately out of her line of sight. “I never realized what my son had intended all those years ago, assuming whatever scheme he had planned had already failed,” Emilie narrated again as Armand dropped his blade down. Nathalie closed her eyes, wincing as she heard Adrien’s screams. Emilie just kept on going, acting as if she didn’t even notice her son’s pain. “What I have recently figured out is that his plan was still in action, just it was taking much longer than expected. Adrien fired his arrow in the wrong direction of his target, causing the arrow to travel much longer than originally intended.”

Nathalie then found herself watching from on top of a wall as a defeated Adrien was marched out of the fortress. “I locked my foolish husband up, tasking him with making me more clothes. My son was banished to Corinth, where I laid a curse on him that he could never leave the arena unless someone came for him and led him out.. A simple bribe and brief flirtation with the general in charge and he made sure no one would ever dare to try and lead Adrien out.” Emilie’s voice chuckled.

The scene changed once more, this time to the moment Nathalie had her first vision of Gabriel. “That brings us to the most recent events. The moment you saw that vision of Gabriel was the moment that the arrow had struck you. It created a bond between the two of you, the source of the pull you feel towards him.” Emilie reappeared in front of Nathalie, a victorious smirk on her face. “You two don’t have a connection, just a fake one made up by my son. Adrien used you to achieve his goals because he wasn’t strong enough to do it on his own.” 

Nathalie watched as Emilie reached over to her side and pulled something out of her hip. She stared in shock at the energy arrow Emilie held it in two hands and snapped it. As the energy dissipated, Nathalie felt the urge, the need to free Gabriel, fade away. In its place, raw anger. Anger at the ones who had used and manipulated her into leaving her home to risk her life. There was still a part of her that was sympathetic to Gabriel and Adrien, but the realization of how Adrien had controlled her mind and actions was still infuriating.

Emilie watched Nathalie as she tumbled through her inner turmoil. “So what’s it going to be, Nathalie of Corinth?”


	5. Choice

Nathalie 

Nathalie stood frozen in shock, unable to process entirely what had just happened. The drive inside of her that had been constantly pushing her towards Gabriel, no matter the danger was gone. The stone golem that she had summoned earlier to fight Emilie collapsed to the ground into pieces. 

Then she saw the arrow still in Emilie’s hand, realization hitting her like a cold wave of water. Adrien used her from the start, planning on using her power to help him free his father. That's why he waited five long years to finally make an attempt to free his father; he was waiting for her to finally show up. It hurt her to think about it.

"Judging by the look of betrayal, you are having second thoughts about helping them now, aren't you?" Emilie asked. “I mean, come on! They yanked you out of your life and threw you into a potentially fatal position.”

Nathalie’s golem felt to pieces, along with her will to keep fighting on. There was no point, no reason inside of her. It was all a lie from the start. Emilie sighed dramatically, “Fine, I’ll just kill you then.” She drew back the blade and readied herself to deliver the killing blow. 

Just for she could swing the blade down, a broken sword hit the dagger, knocking it out of her grasp. As the dagger clattered to the floor, Emilie snarled and looked up to see who the interloper was. Adrien stood just inside of the doors, staring definitely at her with his grey wings flexed out in all their glory. “Hello, mother,” he bit out bitterly, no hint of affection in his voice.

“Adrien,” his mother greeted him, coldly staring at him. “I see that you have survived and that you got your wings back.”

“Your security is lousy,” he retorted, snatching up the spear from the remains of the golem. 

“A problem I will deal with after I put you down,” she hissed, then lunged forwards at him, pulling out a pair of daggers from within her robes. Adrien flipped the spear around like a quarterstaff, blocking both of the blades with ease. 

As mother and child fought it out, Nathalie remained motionless, not sure what her purpose was anymore. Gabriel limped over to her, concern in his eyes. “Nathalie, what’s wrong,” he coughed out, kneeling down next to her. 

“It was never real,” Nathalie whispered. “Anything I had ever felt for you, it was just a lie put in my head.”

Gabriel nodded solemnly, knowing that what Adrien did wasn’t exactly ethical. “Maybe it was a lie then, but it’s not for me right now.” As Nathalie looked up at him confused, he continued, “No one ever tried to free me. No one had ever faced down gods and traveled the distance you have to find me.”

“What are you saying?” Nathalie asked, her voice still trembling. 

“I love you,” Gabriel confessed. “Even without the love arrow, I love you.”

Before Nathalie could open her mouth to retort his comment to point out that he didn’t actually love her, Emilie smashed Adrien down into the ground, making a crater. Adrien laid there, dazed from the blow as Emilie raised the broken spear in the air, ready to drive the broken end into him. “This time, I’m gonna make sure you can’t come back,” she snarled.

“No,” Nathalie cried. In that moment, a massive rock fist emerged from the floor, knocking Emilie away from Adrien. Nathalie rose to her feet as the rest of the stone golem merged, her eyes glowing a light green. The golem towered over everyone, green energy running along its body like veins as it seized Emilie. “You will never hurt anyone else ever again!” she screamed. The rock golem suddenly slammed Emilie into its chest, absorbing her as she screamed. The golem then shifted back into the ground it had emerged from, trapping Emilie deep beneath the ground.

Adrien got up and moved to his father removing his restraints and embraced him. “Let’s get you home,” he said and helped Gabriel out of the fortress, Nathalie following close behind.

  
  


Gabriel

He could barely remember the last time he had stepped foot inside of his shop. It was different from what he remembered, but it was a good different. Amelie had made a wise decision in taking Marinette in under her wing; her talent had blossomed with the resources the shop had and he hoped to give her further guidance. Everyone was gathered in the small kitchenette, all happy to be together and safe with Emilie no longer a threat in their lives. 

But not everyone was in the kitchen, Gabriel noted and began to look around for Nathalie. He found her just inside the backdoor, securing a traveling pack. “Nathalie, wait!” he called, limping over to her. “Why are you leaving?”

Nathalie sighed as she slung the pack around her shoulders, not meeting his gaze. “I need to find out more about myself. That confrontation with Emilie revealed to me that there is so much I don’t know about myself. I need to find out where I got these powers or from whom.”

“Please stay with us,” Gabriel pleaded. “We can find out the answers together.”

“I’m sorry, but this is something I have to do on my own. I don’t belong here, with you.” She gave him one last look as she said, “Goodbye, Gabriel.” And without another word, she left the shop.

Gabriel stepped out the door and watched her walk away into the sunrise. “Goodbye for now, Nathalie. I know we will meet again someday.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Click here](https://novatheastropirate.tumblr.com/post/636819037539713024/broken-arrow) to check out the stunning art created by Nova that inspired this story!


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